15
MARINA LEFT SENATOR HARLOWE’S office and headed down the broad Capitol corridor with a half-smile on her face. Despite her initial reservations, she had just been getting worked up when the senator finished, so she was far from satisfied. But she knew that sometimes retreat was the most diplomatic option. It wasn’t like she had gone there looking for sex, after all, and now she didn’t have to worry about testifying. The sex had only been okay but the bargain was more payoff than she had hoped for, and all in all she thought it was an hour well spent.
She was less than halfway to the exit when she heard hurried footsteps behind her. The building was a busy one, so the footsteps could have belonged to any of thousands of people. Just in case, she glanced back over her shoulder and saw one of Harlowe’s aides rushing toward her. He was young and earnest, with short spiked dark hair and splotchy red cheeks. He wore a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up over nice forearms, a striped tie, and dress pants. She stopped and let him catch up.
“Ms. Dunn!” he said as he neared her.
“Tanaka-Dunn,” she corrected.
“I’m sorry. Ms. Tanaka-Dunn. Can I talk to you for a second?”
“It seems as if you already are.”
“Yeah.” He chuckled, catching his breath from his short dash. “Right, sorry. Maybe outside, though?”
She had no reason to deny him that. She had expected to be in the building for hours yet, suffering through a grilling from Harlowe’s committee. Since the senator had spared her that, she could spare a few minutes for his aide. Anyway, the day was warm, with the humidity that would set in later in the summer nowhere in evidence yet, so spending the time outside would be no hardship. “Sure, no problem.”
“Great, that’s great.”
He didn’t say anything more until they had passed through security and started down the big flight of stairs outside. She didn’t prod. This was his game, whatever it was; she would let him reveal the rules.
Halfway down the stairs, he touched her arm. “I know what you do,” he said.
“What do you mean by that?”
“My name is Barry Wolnitz, since we didn’t actually meet. I know all about Operation Red-Blooded. I’m a policy aide for Senator Harlowe. To tell you the truth, if it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t know if he was a Republican or a Democrat.”
“I thought he was an Independent.”
“See how bad it is?”
Marina laughed, and they went the rest of the way down.
On the street outside the building, they walked close together. “So what are you talking about?” she asked.
“I advise the senator on all kinds of policy matters. That means I have to know what’s going on. That means I have security clearances out my ass.”
“Nice image,” she said.
“I didn’t figure you for a dainty flower.”
She guessed if he knew that much about Harlowe’s business he probably also knew what it meant when the senator locked his door with an attractive woman inside. “You were right. Dainty I’m not.”
“Point is, I know you’re like this big-shot vampire hunter or something, so let’s not kid ourselves. I know they’re real, and I know that you guys need every dime of your budget to deal with them.”
Marina didn’t know how to answer him. He might have been fishing, might have put two and two together but be looking for confirmation. She couldn’t give him anything until she knew what he already knew. “And?”
“And I want to see.”
She stopped walking, turned to face him. “Excuse me? See what?”
“I want to go out with you sometime. I want to see them for myself. Vampires.”
“Why?”
“Ms. Tanaka-Dunn, really. Maybe you’re used to the existence of the undead, but for the rest of us? It’s a pretty big deal. It blows away just about everything we’ve ever been taught about how the world works, about life and death, religion, God, everything.”
“You might be giving a little too much importance to something that’s basically a scientific anomaly.”
“I think it’s more than that. The dead walk. That’s a major thing.”
“Okay …”
“And I want to see it for myself.”
“That’s impossible, Barry.”
“Why? I’ve gone on ride-alongs with the DC gang unit and a stakeout with the FBI. I sat in on a hostage negotiation that took fourteen hours. I flew into Baghdad on the fifteenth day of the war. I’ve done all kinds of dangerous things.”
“So you’re some kind of thrill seeker?”
He shook his head. “It’s not the danger. It’s more … I don’t know, a compulsion. I want to know, to understand what goes on in the world.”
“I wish I could help,” Marina said. “Really, I do. But—”
“I can make things a lot easier for you.”
“Easier how?”
“I know the senator very well, I can assure you. I’m sure he had a great time today, and I know he made certain promises to you. I notice the committee meeting is canceled, and you’re off the hook.”
“So?”
“So those promises he made can be easy to keep, or they can be hard. I’d like to make them easy.”
“Are you blackmailing me?”
“Not at all. I really want to help. I think what you’re doing is valuable work. I just want to see it for myself once. After that, anything Senator Harlowe wants to do for you, I can make it happen.”
Marina didn’t have to consider the idea for long. He was no doubt right. Senator Harlowe probably didn’t write his own legislation, much less handle the day-today affairs of his office. He would be too busy raising money and appearing on talk shows. Having someone else on the inside to keep things running smoothly would certainly help.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay?”
“I just said yes. Can you be ready at ten o’clock?”
“What, tonight? You’re saying they’re right here in Washington?”
“I’m not saying anything. Just be ready to go at ten. Don’t say a word to anyone, not even Harlowe. Especially Harlowe. Wear dark clothes, and shoes you can run in.”
“Okay, but …”
“Are you in or not?”
“I’m in. Trust me, I am so in.” He started to reach for his wallet. “Here, I’ll give you my address.”
“Don’t bother,” Marina said. “Barry Wolnitz. Works for Senator Harlowe. I’ll see you at ten.”
16
THE JET LANDED IN Philadelphia shortly before midnight. Barry Wolnitz hadn’t been told where they were going, and shades had been pulled over the windows. He had known better than to try raising them. The flight hadn’t been long, and if he knew Philadelphia, he might be able to recognize it once they were on the ground. Marina didn’t care if he did or not; she just didn’t want to make it too easy on him. If something went wrong tonight, she didn’t want him coming back here on his own, launching some sort of personal crusade. She didn’t necessarily think that he was the sort who would, but she had only just met him and didn’t like taking unnecessary chances. People could be every bit as unpredictable as bloodsuckers. More so, because all a vampire wanted in the end was to feed. Humans would forgo nourishment for the stupidest of reasons.
He was nervous, jittery, tapping his fingers nonstop against his legs, as if on a meth rush. He had done what she’d instructed, worn a black turtleneck under a black leather jacket and brand new black jeans, still creased from the store shelves, and black sneakers. He had even colored over the white parts of his shoes with black marker. She was a little surprised he hadn’t put on black greasepaint. On the plane he drank two cups of coffee, which Marina didn’t think would help with the nervous energy. But better that than booze.
There was a car waiting for them on the Tarmac. The keys were inside. No driver, no one visible in any direction. From here, it was just the two of them. She had arranged the flight and the car through R
ed-Blooded, but without filing any paperwork or telling anyone what she was up to—one of the perks of her new position. Marina didn’t think she would ever advance higher in the agency; she just wasn’t a team player and she was impulsive, and although it was an unusual bureaucracy, all bureaucracies shared certain characteristics in the end. This kind of thing would drive Zachary Kleefeld nuts.
So no one she worked with or for would probably understand why she had granted Barry’s request. Or having done so, why she didn’t take him out on a prearranged show-and-tell mission with the full team. She thought if he really wanted to see what life was like on the front lines, she would let him. Show him something that resembled the real thing. If they found bloodsuckers, fine, and if they didn’t, well, that was reality. More nights than not, they went home empty handed. Barry might be disappointed, but he wouldn’t be able to claim that she hadn’t taken him seriously.
What she wouldn’t tell him was that the site they would visit had been swept just over a week ago. A den had been taken out. Chances that any others would have moved in were slim, but he would still see evidence that they had been there. He would come away with a sense of what they were like, without having to face any himself.
She drove into the city. Barry was quiet most of the way, twitchy but nonverbal; he had figured out by now that although she was taking him along, she didn’t intend to answer a million questions about her work. She didn’t go into Philadelphia’s historic district, which he certainly would have recognized, but into a run-down neighborhood south of downtown, near the Schuylkill River.
“Crappy neighborhood,” Barry said.
“Maybe it needs some federal dollars.”
“Don’t they all?”
“You tell me.” Marina brought the car to a stop in the parking lot of an abandoned supermarket.
“We there?” Barry asked.
“We’re there.” She got out, went around back and opened the trunk. Barry joined her there. “I’m telling you now, it’s going to be dangerous,” Marina said. “You sure you’re up for this?”
“You sure you’re up for this?”
Barry Wolnitz looked at Marina. Small, dark haired, sexy. She looked strong and capable, but she didn’t look like his idea of a warrior. Certainly not like the Marines he knew from around the Capitol. Barry was no warrior, either, but he had played baseball in college, boxed a little. He worked out three times a week at a gym near his house in Arlington. He ran most mornings before work. He had been raised in a hunting family, in the hills of western Pennsylvania. He knew his way around firearms.
He was pretty sure they were back in his state now, had recognized some of the buildings around the airport. The air smelled right, not like the air of home but like that near the river in Philly, that particular eastern corridor mix of industry and never-quite-clean river water.
Anyway, maybe he had never killed a vampire, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t—only that he had never had the opportunity. “I’m pumped,” he said.
Marina opened a locked case in the trunk and took out a big automatic rifle with a flashlight clipped on top. There was another waiting in the case, he noted. “This is loaded with special phosphorous rounds,” she said. “You don’t want to fire them into anything that’s not a vampire, because they’ll burn hot and they’re hard to put out. Get one in yourself and you’ll be regretting it for a long time, if you live. Get one into the building and you just might burn it down around us.”
Barry fought back the impulse to swallow. It would look like weakness, and she would certainly notice it. But there was a lump in his throat like a tennis ball, and he had no spit. “Okay,” he said, ashamed of the way his voice croaked.
She handed him a couple of clips. “Extra ammo,” she said. “Put them in your pockets. You know how to use this thing?”
Before he could even answer, she ran through the basics: aiming, firing, recoil, reloading. He nodded along the whole time.
When she finished she took the other one out for herself and loaded spare clips into her pockets. “The flashlight at the top is called TRU-UV,” she said. “Sunlight kills vampires, and this replicates the specific properties of sunlight that do the same thing. Just try to hold the light on one as long as you can and it’ll burst into flames.”
“Okay,” he said again.
She handed him big goggles. Night vision, he had seen those before. “Put these on so you can see in there,” she said. “The power’s out. We wouldn’t want the lights on anyway, because they’d be able to see us that much better. Their night vision is more efficient than the goggles, but we go for every slight advantage we can get.”
“Of course,” he said, slipping the goggles on over his head and cinching up the straps. Everything had a greenish glow, but they cut through the darkness even better than he had expected.
Marina closed the trunk and started walking toward the empty market. It had the usual huge front windows, a flat plane above them where a sign had once been, a pitched roof on top. It was dark and still; hard to believe looking at it now that once families had spilled out pushing carts laden with their weekly groceries and the blank expanse of parking lot had been filled with colorful vehicles.
“Did you bring a crucifix?” she asked as they crossed the lot.
Barry touched his chest anxiously. “No, should I have?”
“Vampires don’t care if you go to church every Sunday. All they’re interested in is killing you and drinking your blood. There’s a lot of crap you might have heard about them from movies and books. Forget all of it. They don’t have to sleep in coffins, they don’t avoid crosses, garlic doesn’t bother them in the least. They’re strong, they’re vicious, and I can assure you there is nothing sexy or romantic about them, unless having your throat ripped open or being torn to pieces turns you on.”
The info dump made Barry’s head swim. To be entirely accurate, it was already swimming, the reality of what he had asked for and how quickly it had happened setting in. He hadn’t really thought she would go along with it, had expected her to refuse his request flat out. Then he would have felt good about having asked, would have felt courageous and strong.
But now that he was here, he realized what an idiot he had been. This sort of thing was way out of his league. And just two of them? What was up with that? He’d thought at the very least he would go in with a squad, everybody watching out to make sure he wasn’t hurt. He worked on a United States senator’s staff, for God’s sake!
There was no backing out now, though. He would have to tough it out and stick close to Marina. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s do it.”
They approached the front of the store and Marina gave the glass doors a gentle push. They swung open, unlocked. “Play time,” she said quietly. “I’ll go around back. Give me ninety seconds to get to the back door, then we’ll go in at the same time.”
Sudden panic clenched icy fingers around Barry’s throat. “You’re leaving me here?”
“We’ll meet up in the middle,” she said, flashing him a quick smile. Then she dashed off, and in a couple of seconds he couldn’t even hear her footfalls anymore. He checked his watch, wondering if he should run after her or stick to her plan.
If he chased her, though, she might be inside before he caught up anyway. And she would be pissed. Better to just go in. She wouldn’t really have left him on his own if there was a chance they’d encounter vampires, would she?
On the other hand, he was the one who had pushed for this. Maybe this was her way of teaching him a lesson. Maybe even a lesson he wasn’t expected to survive. Marina had insisted that he not tell anyone what he was up to, and stupidly he had obeyed. If he disappeared tonight, no one would know where to look. He should just go back to her car and sit inside until she returned.
Time was up.
Fuck it, Barry thought. He took a deep breath and pushed through the front doors. I’m going in.
17
MARINA KICKED IN THE rear door. It had been
rammed in during the recent raid, and not repaired, but she wanted to make a lot of noise. Even if vampires hadn’t taken the place over again, homeless squatters might have moved in. Either way she wanted anyone inside to hear her entry, and she wanted Barry Wolnitz to know where she was. The most dangerous part of this whole thing was the possibility that he would shoot her with some of those phosphorous rounds. She had considered leaving his gun unloaded, but then if he did run into trouble before she reached him, he would be out of luck.
For the same reason, she stomped through the back room, the concrete-floored loading and storage areas, past the big walk-in freezer units, and slammed into the swinging double doors that opened into the main store. Anyone inside who posed a threat would be heading her way. She was sure Barry could survive if a few homeless people passed by him.
She could smell bloodsuckers as soon as she got inside. Operation Red-Blooded agents would have come through after the raid and cleaned out the bodies, but they wouldn’t have bothered scouring the place clean, and a den developed a particular stink of rotting flesh, spilled blood, and the rats and insects attracted to both.
The smell was tart, sickly sweet, and fresher than it should have been.
From the front of the store she heard the sound of Barry’s entrance, a couple of seconds behind schedule but not too bad. The store’s largest fixtures remained in place, shelving units standing in empty rows, big freezer sections between her and the doorway, so she couldn’t see him yet.
“Barry!” she called out. “It’s—”
And then she stopped because a flurry of motion caught her attention, the brisk flap of fabric and limbs darting toward her from the blackness of the girders overhead. She snapped her weapon up, clicking on the UV and squeezing the trigger at the same time. Phosphorous rounds stitched across the roof, but two of them hit the falling figure. The bloodsucker—if that’s what it was—screeched in pain and plummeted down. Marina dodged its fall. It landed with a heavy thud next to her, then tried to crawl toward her, hissing and scratching at the floor. She fixed it with the beam and it flinched away. A final short burst blew its head apart.
30 Days of Night: Light of Day Page 9
